


I Should've Known

by Rosaline_C



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Community: trope_bingo, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, season 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 01:25:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13447563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosaline_C/pseuds/Rosaline_C
Summary: It's hard to get a moment alone when you're trying to save the world, let alone a moment with your partner who you're also in love with.





	I Should've Known

**Author's Note:**

> It's been ages since I've been into a fandom enough to write fanfiction for it. Then I got sucked into a Philinda hole and here I am. Decided to do trope bingo for the first time ever! This is for the hurt/comfort prompt.

May couldn’t wait until they were back on their Earth. All she wanted was a long hot shower, a good night’s sleep, and to get back to her normal training routine. 

Though normal was a word May barely knew the meaning of anymore. How long had it been since things could be considered normal? It was definitely before the end of the world, before space, before the framework, before AIDA replaced her with a damn LMD, before she died… She scoffed to herself. Things had never been normal--that was the life of a SHIELD agent. Still, was a hot bath too much to ask for? No, she couldn’t let herself fantasize about how good a hot bath would feel on her aching muscles. 

She tried not to show how much pain she was in but all the recent events were starting to catch up with her. She was lucky to still be alive after she was taken to the surface but now she wasn’t sure how much more her leg could take. She was amazed it hadn’t gotten infected yet. She’d been cleaning it as good as she could in the limited facilities they had. An infection would mean weakness and she couldn’t afford that right now. All she had time to focus on was saving their world so they could get back to it. 

Everything else? Well, that could wait until after. They didn’t need any distractions right now. 

As if he was reading her mind, Coulson sat down next to her and put his hand on her knee, careful to avoid her bad leg. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” she responded, gritting her teeth. She was getting really tired of that question. 

Coulson sighed. “Do you ever get tired of being constantly in danger?” 

She snorted. “Wouldn’t life be boring without all of this.” Yes, she was tired of it. 

He shrugged. “A vacation might be nice though. You haven’t had one since…”

“Andrew,” she finished for him. “And when was the last time you had one? Dying doesn’t count.”

He thought for a moment. “You know, I honestly don’t remember.”

They sat in silence for a while before Coulson quietly said, “When we get back to our time and save the world we could always go to Australia. Leave Daisy in charge for a while.”

“We can’t,” May said, even though she wanted to. “We’ll need to be there for Fitzsimmons wedding and then they’ll want to go away for their honeymoon.”

“When will it be our turn?” Coulson mumbled so May wasn’t even sure if she heard him right. 

She looked up at him tentatively. She didn’t want to ask him what he meant; she knew they didn’t have enough time to deal with the fallout from his answer.  
He didn’t elaborate--just sat there with his hand still on her knee. This was more like it; they’d never needed words to communicate. The unspoken words between them filled the silence just fine. 

May could tell that Coulson was worried. Hell, she was too, she was just a lot better at hiding it than he was. “We’re going to get home. You know that, right?”

“I know,” he agreed. “We’ll save the day. We always do. No matter the cost.” Phil sighed. They had lost a lot but May was trying not to dwell on it. It could always be worse. Lightening the mood, Coulson added, “Besides, I promised you a night in your own bed.”

Screw it. They’d both died, been replaced, been through the framework, and now it was the end of the world. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be alone.”

“Melinda…” He leaned into her, about to kiss her when Daisy walked in. 

“Uh… Am I interrupting something?” she asked. 

Coulson looked annoyed. May resisted the urge to glare at her. Maybe the fact that she walked in right now was a sign. 

“Was there something you wanted, Daisy?” May asked, trying not to let her annoyance into her voice. 

“I was just coming to check on you. Wasn’t expecting to find Coulson in here as well.”

“I’m fine, Daisy.”

“Jemma seems concerned that your leg is going to get infected. 

“I’m concerned about that myself,” Coulson added.

“I don’t get how you can still stand,” Daisy pointed out. May shrugged. “I know you’re a badass and everything but even your body has to give up eventually.”

“I’m managing.”

Both Coulson and Daisy looked like they were going to argue but they didn’t have a chance before Jemma burst in. “We’ve figured it out.” she exclaimed, out of breath. “We’re going home.”

\---------

It wasn’t quite as simple as Fitzsimmons made it seem, but they were finally home. Or at least they were before Coulson and May temporarily left Daisy in charge of SHIELD and went on a much needed vacation. 

Coulson had no idea where they were other than it was somewhere in the countryside and that it was beautiful. May had talked Coulson into going for a hike now that her leg was healed and she was getting restless. She didn’t want to overdo it though and the bench on the top of the hill ahead of them was a welcome sight. They walked up to it in silence. Neither one of them even knew what to say at this point. What do you say when you’ve been through everything together? 

“What happened to Australia?” Coulson asked, out of curiosity. 

“Brought back memories of you asking me to kill you. Thought the country might be better.”

“You might be right,” he mused, sitting down on the bench. “It’s so peaceful out here.” May just smiled. They could use a little peace. 

“We still haven’t talked about anything that happened.”

“Must we.”

“Mel,” Phil started. He hadn’t called her that in ages. “You died! You were replaced with an LMD, we were captured and taken to space where your leg was impaled, you were forced to fight inhumans, you were sent to thee surface with the roaches, you found out you raised Robin and then had to watch her die! Don’t you think we should talk about any of that?”

“You want to talk, Phil? Fine. What really happened with my LMD? Cause I’m not buying that she just tried to kill you.”

“That part is true. But you’re right, I haven’t told you everything,” he admitted. She nodded cautiously urging him to continue, even though she knew whatever he was going to say was going to change everything. “I should have known she wasn’t you. She was so like you. I mean, she had your brain, she basically was you. But she was on a mission. She had to get the Darkhold and distract me. She was programmed to have feelings for me. I should’ve known… We were getting closer and I kissed her. I didn’t even have time to process before she pulled a gun on me and I knew it wasn’t you.”

May felt a rush of emotions. She figured something like that must of happened but now it was out in the open. She could only blame herself, she was the one who asked. Maybe it was time for it to all be out in the open. Did he not realize he wasn’t the only one with these feelings? “Phil,” she said lightly. “It wasn’t the programming.”

His eyes widened. He didn’t have time to say anything before May put her hands on the side of his face and pulled him in for a kiss. Nearly three decades of passion took over as they were finally able to kiss as Phil and Melinda. 

“I’m so glad you’re not a robot,” he said when they finally pulled apart for some air. She rolled her eyes at him and leaned in for another kiss. Yes, she was glad of that too.


End file.
